Davenport, IA - It is now time to begin filing Iowa's 2014 Rent Reimbursement Claim Form and the Center For Active Seniors, Inc. (CASI) is here to help. CASI's Senior Advocates are now assisting older adults who are eligible to file for the 2014 Iowa Rent Reimbursement. CASI is one of three locations, in Scott County, recognized by the Iowa Department of Revenue to assist with this claim process. Rent reimbursement forms can be picked up at CASI, 1035 West Kimberly Rd., Davenport, IA., 52806, Monday through Friday, from 8am - 5pm. Those interested in filing this claim must meet the following eligibility requirements:

·         Lived in Iowa all or part of 2014, and live in Iowa now, and

·         Your household income is less than $22,011, and,

·         The rental unit you lived in is subject to property tax, and

·         You (or your spouse) were born before 1950, or

·         You (or your spouse) were age 18 to 64 as of December 31, 2014, and totally disabled. Totally disabled means you are unable to get a job paying more than $1,070 per month due to physical or mental disability which has lasted, or is expected to last for at least one year. Proof of disability must be included with your claim.

Married couples living together are considered one household and can file only one claim, combining both incomes. If they do not live together, they may file separate claims. Other persons living together who qualify for a reimbursement may each file a claim based on their income and share of rent paid.

CASI's Senior Advocates will be at several senior living complexes to assist residents during the upcoming month.

CASI's Senior Advocates are also available to assist older adults who live outside of these complexes and qualify for this claim. Individual appointments must be made in advance by calling CASI, at 563-386-7477. Proof of residency, income, disability (if applicable) and monthly rent amount along with landlord contact information are required at the time of appointment. CASI is located at 1035 West Kimberly Rd., Davenport, IA., 52806. For more information on this or any other program or service provided call, 563-386-7477 or visit www.CASISeniors.org

Electronic copies of the 2014 form can be located on the Iowa Department of Revenue's website, www.tax.iowa.gov. Iowa residents under the age of 50 looking for help may also contact Family Resources and Community Action for assistance.

Not only have thousands of our community members experienced our productions, but many of you have decided to support our work with generous donations. So far this season, we have raised more than $4,000! For a small company like ours, this is a big step. But there's so much more to do.

The best way to make great theatre is by hiring professional artists. Theatre is a massively time-consuming endeavor, and hiring artists not only allows a company to support local talent, but it provides a higher quality theatrical experience to you, our community.

Thanks to your support...
the QC Theatre Workshop is now a professional theatre company!

Beginning with our next production - A Steady Rain - all Workshop actors, staff, and designers will be paid for their time and talents. Initially, these stipends will be very small, as we simply do not have the financial ability to pay artists what they're worth...yet! But this is an important step, and as we grow our financial resources - with your help - we will increase these stipends and continue to secure the brightest talents in the Quad Cities.

Think of what we have accomplished so far with an all-volunteer staff...

• the dynamic two-man drama RED
• the groundbreaking and powerful locally-written A Green River
• the heartwarming and heartbreaking concert revue Last Call
• the wacky and hilarious blockbuster Bat Boy: The Musical

...and those are just four of the ten shows we have presented, all under our "Pay What It's Worth" ticket pricing policy, which guarantees every member of our community equal access to theatre, regardless of financial means.

Just think of what we can accomplish as a professional theatre company!

The future is bright for the Workshop. We're glad you're along for the ride!

 Where might one find bacon, bacon, and more bacon? At Me & Billy's Beer and Bacon Tasting, of course! Brace yourself for a sampling of three separate pairings of bacon with beer on Thursday starting at 7 p.m. SPOILER ALERT: We heard the dessert round includes Guinness, "doughnettes," AND ice cream...

 Treat yourself to a movie night over at River Music Experience for this Tuesday's Redstone Reels. Watch Dazed and Confused on their NEW HD projectors and participate in a discussion and trivia games after. Also at RME this week- Eleven Fifty Two with Drama Major and Asbigasamouse, Songwriters in the Round, and The Coop with Genome and The Tripp Brothers.

 Mark those calendars for January 25, because Gallery 114's 25/25 event is back! With an opportunity to find the perfect small painting for only $25, this is one show you don't want to pass up. Can't make it Saturday? No worries, Gallery 114 is open Tuesday - Sunday, too! Plenty of time to find that perfectly unique piece of art.

 Gather up your favorite seeds and head down to the Food Hub on Saturday for their Seed Saving and Seed Swap event. Starting at 10 a.m., expert seed saver Glenn Drowns will give tips on how to best preserve your seeds. Following her talk, participate in a seed swap with various gardeners and farmers from the area. Later than evening, swing back with some friends for games, raffles, door prizes, and more during Trivia Night at the Freight House.

 Calling all brides-to-be - the biggest bridal show in the region takes over the RiverCenter next Saturday! Get your tickets today for the Davenport Jaycees Bridal Expo and spend a day visiting with vendors, learning from lectures, and sampling luscious cakes.  This year's event even has a record-breaking number of vendors. Happy planning, fair ladies!

Frederick Douglass' impassioned eulogy to Lincoln to be presented by nationally-acclaimed actor at annual Abraham Lincoln Symposium banquet February 12

SPRINGFIELD, IL- When Frederick Douglass spoke, people listened. He was a former slave who purchased his freedom and became one of Abraham Lincoln's most vocal critics and supporters at the same time. And when Douglass delivered a eulogy to the 16^th President at the dedication of a memorial in 1876, the speech he made has come to be known as the most stirring remembrance of Lincoln's legacy ever made.

That impassioned speech will be presented on Lincoln's 206^th birthday, Thursday, February 12, by a nationally-acclaimed actor at the annual Abraham Lincoln Association Symposium Banquet. Fred Morsell, a veteran star of stage and screen, will headline the banquet and perform Frederick Douglass' famous speech, Eulogy to Lincoln. The New York Times praised Morsell's performance of a Douglass speech on PBS saying, "the standing ovation given to Mr. Morsell, whose sonorous voice stems in large part from his background as lyric baritone, is clearly and deservedly heartfelt."

The banquet will be held at the President Lincoln Hotel in Springfield on Thursday, February 12. The reception starts at 6 p.m. followed by a dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $85 each and can be obtained online at www.abrahamlincolnassociation.org or by calling (866) 865-8500.

Parts of Douglass' speech continue to echo through time: "...under his wise and beneficent rule we saw ourselves gradually lifted from the depths of slavery to the heights of liberty and manhood...we saw that the handwriting of ages, in the form of prejudice and proscription, was rapidly fading away from the face of our whole country; under his rule, and in due time, about as soon after all as the country could tolerate the strange spectacle, we saw our brave sons and brothers laying off the rags of bondage, and being clothed all over in the blue uniforms of the soldiers of the United States responding to the call of Abraham Lincoln, and with muskets on their shoulders, and eagles on their buttons, timing their high footsteps to liberty and union under the national flag...

"Any man can say things that are true of Abraham Lincoln...He was a mystery to no man who saw him and heard him. Though high in position, the humblest could approach him and feel at home in his presence. Though deep, he was transparent; though strong, he was gentle; though decided and pronounced in his convictions, he was tolerant towards those who differed from him, and patient under reproaches. Even those who only knew him through his public utterance obtained a tolerably clear idea of his character and personality."

The Abraham Lincoln Association (ALA) will also celebrate President Lincoln's birthday with its annual Abraham Lincoln-Benjamin P. Thomas Symposium that will begin on Wednesday, February 11 at 7 p.m. at The Old State Capitol State Historic site with a keynote address by Dr. Matthew Holden, Jr., the Wepner Distinguished Professor in Political Science at the University of Illinois Springfield. His presentation is titled The End and the Beginning: Emancipation and Counter-Emancipation.

The Symposium on Lincoln's presidency in 1865 continues on Thursday, February 12 at the Old State Capitol State Historic Site in Springfield. The 11 a.m. speakers will be James B. Conroy, author of Our One Common Country: Abraham Lincoln and the Hampton Roads Peace Conference of 1865 and fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society and Chris DeRose, award-winning author of Congressman Lincoln: The Making of America's Greatest President, as well as several other books. A round table featuring all of the Symposium speakers begins at 2:30 p.m. at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. These Symposium events are free and open to the public.

The Thomas F. Schwartz Symposium luncheon, which begins at 1 p.m. Thursday, February 12 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, features speaker Dr. Ronald White, Jr., author of A. Lincoln: A Biography a New York Times bestseller and Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural, a New York Times notable book. The luncheon is $25 per person and reservations can be made online at www.abrahamlincolnassociation.org or by calling (866) 865-8500.

The Abraham Lincoln Association Symposium is co-sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, The University of Illinois Springfield, The Old State Capitol State Historic Site and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. For more information about the Abraham Lincoln Association, visit www.abrahamlincolnassociation.org.

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